Reaching The Big Sky

A little love for the Ta Ta's

2012-02-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

We have been so lucky to train at the Olympic Training Center, and not just because of the unmatchable facilities and coaches. . . Just recently I was able to be apart of a cause I feel very strongly about. Raising money for breast cancer research. This opportunity arouse after receiving an email from my Track & Field Athletes Association President informing us that there was a husband and wife collecting signed sports bras from professional athletes in order to sell them on ebay. They had just finished a successful selling of the US Women's Soccer Team's bras. Having a grandmother as a breast cancer survivor, I was moved to get involved.

With the help of our Media Relations Coordinator, Emily Cox, we were able to get a great turn out of female athletes to bring sports bras in, and decorate them in order to add a little personalization. We had a lot of fun doing this, and our chief chef even provided us with a fresh baked tray of cookies!

It seems very rare you find someone who has not been personally touch by the wicked fingers of cancer, and more specifically breast cancer. And so it took little convincing to get this large group of girls to give up time on their Monday night to help out a great cause. I am thankful to all of them, and extremely thankful to the wife and husband behind it all, Dave and Carey Bayer.

Check out the MZ & Emmers Sports Bra Auction for Breast Cancer on Facebook and buy a sports bra if you can!!! http://www.facebook.com/MZEmmers

"The Last Best Place"

2011-11-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

I have wrestled for 2 weeks now with how to approach writing a blog, in order to both show my gratitude for the Live Locally Race, along with shed some light into how lucky I am to come from such an amazing small town. Now some people, like my boyfriend, are blessed with the amazing ability to beautifully if not poetically put down on paper the words that are in their head. Me on the other hand, was not blessed with such ability. Especially on a topic such as this, where I am trying so hard to express how deeply grateful I am. I guess the phrase "Words cannot describe" could not be truer here.

On October 22nd my hometown of Polson, Montana put on a 5k-benefit run where all proceeds were graciously given to help me train for the upcoming Olympics in August. I am not sure if I will ever be able to describe how truly honored I am to have been born and raised in a town where the people care for each other so much. I have told many people of how jealous the athletes around me get when they hear about the support I have back home. When an athlete comes from somewhere such as LA, Atlanta, or even Seattle they are one of MANY other highly competitive athletes. Heck most every state has a professional football, basketball, or baseball team that takes up most of the attention. Not in Polson, and not in Montana. I wonder how many other athletes have been on a run, while visiting home, and had a neighbor run out their door after them with a check in hand wanting to help. I would dare to say none.

This is what makes, what I do, so special. I get to share it with so many caring and supportive people. All in my corner, and all helping push me every single day to work as hard, or harder than any of my competitors. That is what I want people to know, that every single email, Facebook message, letter, text message, etc has helped drive me. I would not be where I am if it were not for the great people of Polson, Montana, and the unbelievably giving companies such as Country Pasta. So for anyone who is reading this, who has given and or shown support I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to everyone else. . . you now have a small glimpse at the facts, which support my claim, that I come from the “Last Best Place”.

Amazing Article by Brandon Hansen in my Local Paper

2011-10-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

Strength in the face of adversity

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Melinda Owen

Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2011 7:30 am

Brandon Hansen | 0 comments

POLSON — While pole vaulting is an individual sport, Polson’s Melinda Owen has found that there’s a whole team supporting her quest to go to the 2012 Olympics in pole vaulting.

“I feel so fortunate to come from a small town where people care,” Owen said. “It’s such a neat feeling because I have an entire community to share the experience with.”

Owen, who graduated from Polson High School in 2003 and went on to excel at the pole vault at the University of Idaho, has made a lot of progress throughout her international career. Last February, she placed third at the Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden. Her jump of 4.4 meters was behind the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked vaulters in the world.

Since vaulting into the forefront her senior year at the University of Idaho with the highest jump in the nation in 2008, she now spends most of her time training at the U.S. Olympic Center in San Diego when she’s not traveling to meets.

It would be easy for Owen to forget about Polson, since she doesn’t get back very often, due to her demanding schedule. It would also be easy for the people in the Polson community to lose touch with the vaulting phenom, who had to borrow her first pole from Charlo High School when Polson didn’t have the proper equipment.

However, that hasn’t happened. In fact, it’s been the exact opposite.

Last October at the Live Locally 5K race in Polson, Country Pasta owners Amy and Fred Kellogg donated $10,000 to Owen. On top of that, the charity race raised $4,250. That’s an essential amount of income, as an Olympic-level athlete doesn’t necessarily earn a salary and Owen still has to foot standard living expenses along with travel expenses to meets.

“It’s pretty phenomenal that she is training at this level,” Heather Knutson of County Pasta and Live Locally 5K race organizer said. “She’s truly a remarkable young gal.”

While in the past, the community-minded Live Locally race has donated over $7,000 to Mission Valley Aquatics to fulfill their dream of a swimming pool in Lake County, once they reached the groundbreaking phase, Live Locally found another wonderful cause to support.

“Last year, Melinda’s Mom was in HealthCare Plus and I got to visiting with her and realized Melinda’s dedication and heart at reaching for her goal of the summer games in 2012 and thought what better way to help support this individual than to use Live Locally to promote and assist our own local Olympic hopeful in reaching towards her dream,” said HealthCare Plus employee and race organizer Sarah Bird.

Last year’s contributions were extremely important to Owen, and she couldn’t have been more surprised and happy about the community of Polson supporting her.

“Its definitely not easy financially to compete professionally,” Owen said. “[The 5K] race was the reason I was able to compete last season.”

Over 191 people ran in the 5K race last year to support her, and 231 total walkers and runners registered, with some just contributing the money for Owen’s cause. The support for one athlete surprised the organizers of Live Locally.

“We had people just stop in the office to donate money, people who weren’t going to partake in the race but wanted to support such a great individual, and to be honest, until I met Melinda I didn’t know how great she was,” Bird said. “She truly is one class act, with the heart, desire and dedication to bring home the Olympic gold. She not only has a passion for competing, she has a passion for people, and while she was at home she took time to get involved in the local school system and tell her story, offering support and instilling the message that hard work is worth it.”

And as impressed as people are of Owen’s success, she’s equally blown away by what the community of Polson has done for her.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for what they did for me last year,” Owen said. “I feel so fortunate to come from a small town where people care. A lot of athletes that come from bigger cities don’t have that.”

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

A true testament to Owen as an athlete is the way she’s been able to overcome injuries and excel at the sport. She suffered a torn quad her freshman year of high school and broke her leg her sophomore year, but placed at state regardless. In her senior year, she was a state champion.

During her career at the University of Idaho where she really came into her own, Owen placed 10th at nationals her senior year and earned the attention of U.S. Track and Field coaches. However, she had to have surgery first on bone spurs in her foot.

And just this year, Owen had to have surgery yet again on her foot to remove spurs, but it will ensure that this tough-as-nails pole-vaulter is more ready than ever to compete.

Before the surgery, Owen had made really big strides. She was invited to top-tier meets, put up the No. 2 jump in the nation at 4.51 meters and was nearing her goal of making the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field national team.

“I felt like I was on a roll,” Owen said. “I was setting PRs at every meet.”

However, her ankle had been giving her trouble since the indoor season last winter. She had five MRIs and no one could figure out what was wrong with it. Owen then decided to take it easy for a month to let the ankle heal itself, but for some reason it got worse.

“At the New York [Madison Square Garden] meet, I was vaulting well, but at the end of the meet I couldn’t walk on my ankle,” Owen said. “At Nationals, by the first warm up, I could not walk and my ankle gave out.”

Unfortunately, Owen had to pull out of Nationals, but that didn’t dampen her spirit as evident from the last line of a blog post she made explaining what had happened. It spelled out to the tee what kind of drive she has:

“Watch out 2012, I don’t get mad… I get even ?,” she wrote.

Owen turned to her doctor in Missoula, who had done her foot surgery in 2008 and again found that bone spurs were the root of her problem.

“As I would run on it, it would cause an abrasion and it calcified into a bony block,” Owen said.

When she took more time off to let her ankle rest, it allowed for the bony block to grow bigger. While it was nice to get the problem solved with surgery, there was a glaring question mark… how long would it take to rehab?

“They were pretty positive that there was cartilage damage,” Owen said. “When they operated, they found that it was damaged but with no bare bone showing.”

That small detail saved Owen from a potential six-month rehab process. Had the bone been exposed, doctors would have had to initiate a micro-fracture break to allow it to heal properly. Luckily, that wasn’t the case and Owen was on the fast track.

“I’m at three months now and I’m having no pain,” Owen said. “I should be good to go. I’m pretty much cleared to do anything within reason.”

Owen spent three weeks of that three-month rehab in Polson, namely, under the care of her parents.

“That’s the longest I’ve been in Polson since high school,” Owen said.

She’ll be back in town for the Live Locally 5K on Oct. 22, but then will focus on the upcoming indoor season with the World Championships in Turkey as a goal for the spring.

A RACE FOR OWEN

Over the course of five years, the Live Locally 5K has helped fuel MVA to break ground on the aquatics center, and hopefully in 2012 will see Owen compete for her country in the Olympic games.

This year’s race will take place Saturday, Oct. 22 at HealthCare Plus on Main Street and 7th Ave. in Polson. While it’s called a race, there’s a lot more that goes into it.

“We want to support the businesses and organizations around our community,” Knutson said. “It’s a different type of a race. It’s a race and a community event.”

With a community like Polson and an athlete like Owen, this race already looks like a winner.

Elevating The World

2011-08-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate enough to have been an Elite Athlete Ambassador for Lululemon for one year now!!! Although injury kept me from competing this weekend at the World Outdoor Championships, I was instead blessed with the opportunity to spend this past week in Vancouver, B.C. at Lululemon headquarters. What an amazing experience this was. With one other Elite Athlete (Canadian Swimmer) and over 50 Ambassadors from all over the world. I was able to meet the Founder, CEO and all of the people who make Lululemon one of the greatest companies in the world.

No one would ever have to convince me that the workout gear this company makes is the best there is. Extremely well made, very functional, and also lets be honest, it looks good on! What I was blown away by, at this retreat, was how truly dedicated the company is to the betterment of society. Their mission statement is "To elevate the world of mediocrity to a place of greatness" Through their local Ambassadors, the community is given a chance to come together to practice yoga, participate in bootcamps, and join in on group runs. All at no cost to yourself. . . They kept telling us the whole weekend to give without expectations. And they practice what they preach, which I have a whole lot of respect for!

One thing that can be a deterrent from Lululemon is the pricing of their clothes. . . We had a chance to ask Chip Wilson (the founder) any questions we wanted to during one of our meetings. A fellow ambassador asked why the clothing cost so much, and why they couldn't lower it so that the average person could purchase it. I had often wondered this same question. Chip explained it amazingly, which I know I will not be able to do justice explaining. He said that when he decided to create clothing hewanted it to be made only of the very best and most durable material. Every garment you buy is created to last at LEAST 5 to 6 years. In doing so, this cost a great deal more to manufacture, which means that you must pay more. You can however, look at it as making an investment in your clothing. You may not be able to buy as much, but what you do buy will last.

I can vouch for the lasting fact, because I have now own all my Lululemon workout gear for one year. And seeing as I workout 6-8 hours a day in it, in that one year, may wear it more than the average person would in 3 years. Just the other day I had someone ask if my tights were brand new. That is how well they keep. They have not lost shape, nor has the color faded even a little. I have also bought inexpensive tights from a place like Target, which I love, but they do not even last a year. So if I payed a little over $20 every year for Target workout gear, by year 5 I have spent more money and gone through more clothing. Which does happen to go against my "Thinking Green" philosophy :)

To sum it up, this past week made me even more proud to be sponsored by a company like Lululemon. Financially they have been a huge help to me in taking away the costs of buying workout gear. It also feels very nice to endorse a product that continues to make an impact in their communities!!!

Surgery Was a Huge Success!!!

2011-07-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well it has taken a couple days for the effects of the anesthesia to wear off, so I figured I had better wait to blog about how the surgery went until now. I am my fathers daughter when it comes to how much I am effected by the drugs they give you to put you under. I text messaged my college coach today to tell him how the surgery went, which he then informed me I had already called him right after surgery. Oops :)

Anyway the operation on my ankle went better than I could have imagined!!! As I was slipping off into the world of blackness on the operating table, I still had no idea what my timeline for healing was going to be. Dr. Jarrett, the surgeon who had done my last surgery, decided to go in with a scope to clean out any loose bodies and shave off bone spurs if they showed themselves. He was not certain how the condition of the cartilage in the joint would be, and prepared me for worst case scenario. We already knew I had some disruption of the cartilage, but the extent was uncertain. If there were any bald spots on the bone, Dr Jarrett was going to create a small micro-fracture in hopes of making new cartilage. This would be at least a 4-6 month recovery until I would be back 100%. (Like I said worse case scenario.)

But as I started coming to in the recovery room, I was immediately informed that no micro-fracture was done!!!!!!!! I started cheering!!! The doctor came back in to explain to me what he had done in the procedure, and why I had been is so much pain when I sprinted. He said that I had a curved bone spur off the bottom of my Tibia that gouged into my Talus every time I went into dorsi-flection. Believe me, it was as painful as it sounds.

With the multiple bone spurs, loose bodies, and more taken out of my ankle, the doctor was VERY confident that he had addressed the main problem. He made sure to explain that with the state my ankle is in, I would never be without a little pain. Which is fine by me, no pain no gain right? :) As long as it is not as severe as these past 4 months.

Ok so now onto the recovery. I am non-weight bearing for 4 weeks, with 2 of those weeks being pretty much bed ridden. Then after the 4 weeks my comeback to 100% is exponential! The laying around is not ideal for an athlete, but I have not and WILL not complain. This is nothing compared to what I was mentally preparing my self for with a 4 month recovery. I am loving the time with my family, and getting to appreciate the most beautiful season of the year in Montana!!!

Everything Happens for a Reason

2011-06-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the US Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon. This competition decided who made the World Team that is to head to Daegu, Korea in August. For the past three years this has been a huge goal of mine, topped only by my goal to make the Olympic Team next year. As I said in my last blog, I have been battling an ankle injury since the end of indoor season, which only continued to worsen at the Nationals.

I regrettably had to withdraw myself from the competition. Somewhat of a setback, however, adversity is all apart of the job. Thankfully I had plenty of family and friends there to support me and help provide perspective. Now the time has come to get HEALTHY!!! I have surgery scheduled next wednesday on my ankle then back to rehabbing.

Watch out 2012, I don't get mad. . . I get even :)

It Could Always Be Worse. . .

2011-06-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

I was able to jump this weekend in the New York Adidas Track meet on Randalls Island in New York City... This was the first meet that I have had since indoor season, and with only two jump sessions to get ready for it. The weather was less than ideal. . . Ok the only thing I could think of that would have been worse was a blizzard. So bad in fact, they almost canceled the vault because our officials at the pole vault pit felt it was to unsafe. . . BUT they were shot down by the head official of the meet. So with the meet still rolling and the unsafe conditions, I was very proud of myself for jumping off the ground almost every single time, from my full approach. I may have not cleared the bar, but as you can see in the video below it was not lack of height!

It feels great to be back, and I am very very excited that the mental training I have been working so hard on with my Sports Psychologist is coming together! One of the hardest things in pole vaulting is mentally getting over the fear of injury. Coming back from this last injury has been a long hard fought battle, but thanks to my coach and team of Therapists I am finally able to jump again!!! And man it feels good!

I am hoping to jump this coming up Thursday here at the OTC Meet but it will all depend on how the foot feels. Next Sunday is the National Championships in Eugene, Oregon and I want to be fully prepared to go in and make the US Team in order to compete at World Championships in Daegu, Korea at the end of August!!!

Thank you to everyone who continues cheering me on , I strive to make you proud!

INSPIRATION

2011-04-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Living at the Olympic Training Center, I have seen my fair share of amazing athletes, as well as performances. But it wasn't until yesterday that I was a witness to something beyond extraordinary. I had the privilege of watching one of our blind paraolympic runners get on a BMX bike and ride part of the course here at the Center. Now, maybe I should let you know that this is a course where most people with their vision are too scared to ride. But not Lex, no King LEX walked it once, then began to riding. . . gaining speed with each pass he took. As I stood there and watched in awe I couldn't help but think of how scary this must be for him, and the danger he was putting himself in. But he went for it. He didn't let the fear control him!!!

The video attached is what Arielle Martin (BMX World Cup Champion) put together. The song playing in the background is one that Lex wrote after walking the course with Arielle This past fall.

On the right track!

2011-02-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

After a very disappointing weekend in Boston, my coach Ty Sevin, Becky Holliday, and myself flew to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Academy Indoor Invitational this past weekend. I was definitely ready for some redemption after my poor performance in Boston, and redemption is what I got!!! I jumped 4.51m (or about 14ft 10in) This was a new indoor personal best for me, and only 1cm off my all time PR. This jump also put me at #2 in the US Rankings! . . Here is the video of my 4.51m jump.

Next weekend is our National will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico where both family and friends have purchased flights to come watch me compete. This means so much to me, and I am so excited to share that experience with them. I have always loved vaulting with my family present, because I love the feeling of knowing that no matter what, after the meet I get to spend time with them!!!

Millrose Games

2011-01-28T22:07:00.001-08:00

I competed this evening at the biggest indoor track meet of my career this far with a great field of 5 very competitive girls. This was my first time to New York City and I have really been looking forward to coming! The travel getting in, however, was not as exciting. With the big snow storm, all flights were delayed coming into the city. My ticket had origionally put me in at 9:30, which is pretty late the night before a meet anyway. But to make matters worse they had trouble with the plane so we didn't get into the hotel until 2:30 in the morning. Wowzer. Nonetheless I was still very excited about our hotel which was across the street from Madison Square Garden, which is where the meet was held. That in itself was a very inspiring feeling, walking into a facility that has held some of the greatest athletes of all time.

Even with a late night I was still able to get some sleep under my belt. I woke up in enough time to grab lunch/breakfast with Trey Hardee and Adam Nelson! So with food in my belly, and great conversations with good friends I was able to muster up the energy to give one of my better performances! I made each bar on my first attempt up until 4.54m or 14ft 11" about. So I walked away from the competition with a jump of 4.44m and a third place finish. Coming in right behind the #1 and #2 ranked girls in the world!!! I had a great cheering section comprised of family from Washington DC as well as some of the guys from USATF Foundation!!!

I will now try to catch up on lost sleep and get prepared to compete at the Boston Indoor New Balance Meet next Saturday!

Millrose

2011-01-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to announce that I have been invited to jump at Millrose at the Square Gardens in New York on the 28th of January!!! I am very happy with this for multiple reasons. . .One being that I have never been to New York City before!!! I know that, coming from Montana, I may be a tad overwhelmed with the number of people. Nonetheless I am looking forward to seeing it all for the first time!!! Oh yeah and I am of course excited to be vaulting at such a prestigious meet.

If I can make it happen, I am going to try to fly into Maryland in order to talk to some high school athletes at the school that my cousin attends. That way I would get to see my family on the East Coast, and get a chance to share my experiences with some kids getting ready to head off to college. Talk about a great trip. . . I will keep my fingers crossed that the timing works out! It gets extremely hard when competition rolls around, to be able to commit to pretty much anything. So all I can do is tell it to the agent, and hope that we can make it happen.

Other than that, first day of long run happen today. . . I am very please that even on the first day the things I have been working on in my short approach are showing up!!!

2010-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

I willingly admit that I have not been the best about updating my blog on my website. . . I am going to go ahead and blame it on the fact that I don't always have my computer with me, which was the only way I was able to get on and make changes. By changing to Blogger I am now able to update it from my phone, and I tend to ALWAYS have my phone on me!!! I will start competing starting in January, and I plan on doing very well this season! My New Years Resolution is to be more consistent at posting more about both competing and training.

Training has been going amazing so far. I am just finishing up Block 3 (A block consists of 4 weeks of training) Week 3, and I am pleased to say that my testing has increased every single block. For instance, we have been recording the power output of my behind the neck jerks for the past 2 blocks, and Thursdays weights I recorded my highest numbers BY FAR!!! This increase in power is showing up both in my vertical jumps testing, as well as in my actual pole vault practices. I am loving the confidence I am gaining from this progress, and look forward to feeling that confidence carry over to my competitions!!!

Here is my practice from Yesterday. . . My second practice from 6 lefts! (You will have to be a little patient, as it was filmed in slow motion :)

Thought Provoking Statements

2010-12-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

There is great need for a sarcasm font.

How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Map Quest really needs to start their directions on I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the Person died.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. Bad decisions make good stories.

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this- ever.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?Darn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

Even when opportunity knocks, you still have to get off your hindquarters and open the door.

Shop With A Jock

2010-12-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

Last night I had the amazing opportunity to join up with other athletes in the San Diego area and make a difference. We had the honor of taking over two hundred underprivileged children from Boys and Girls Clubs and provided them with the opportunity to shop for gifts for their families and loved ones. The athletes were comprised of players from the San Diego Chargers, NFL Alumni, San Diego Padres, US Olympic Athletes, SDSU, USD, and many other local colleges.

After a dinner, and one heck of a dance competition, each athlete was then paired up with one child and set free in Target with a $100 gift card. My little Guys name was Julio, and and was a riot!!! As soon as I met him, I tried to ask him lots of questions about school, and sports, and his family. However, Julio had different plans. He was all business :) He wanted a game plan, mapped out what he wanted to get his whole family, and where he had to go to get it. So as long as I was on his heals, and he could hear the questions I was firing at him, he would answer.

My Hometown is the BEST!

2010-10-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

I would like to take this opportunity to give the community of Polson my heartfelt thanks for the amazing happenings at the Live Locally Fun Run, last Saturday morning. I have had some incredible experiences in growing up in Polson, but nothing will compare to what happened to me on Saturday. I was already honored to have the race organizers name me as the benefactor of the fundraiser; little did I know how much more there was in store for me. Racers and supporters continued to appear and said wonderful and encouraging things to me. Many folks did not even enter the race, yet contributed financially.

When I thought it could not get any better, at the conclusion of the race, Fred and Amy Kellogg of Country Pasta announced that they would make a donation of $10,000. This gift and all of the racer support and donations are going to make life so much easier for me in the coming year. I give the community of Polson my promise to do everything I can to make the next Olympic team and represent not just the United States, but the community I love the most.

Thanks Health Care Plus and Country Pasta for making me your benefactor, to the Polson High School volleyball team for monitoring the course, to Kelly and Timothy Bagnell for your very generous donation, and special thanks to Heather Knutson and Sara Hartsoch Bird for all of your hard work.

You can see pictures of the race under the “My Albums” tab and clicking on the “Live Locally 5K Run” album!

Country Pasta!

2010-10-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

As of Saturday, I have picked up my biggest sponsorship of my career. A local company called Country Pasta has so graciously donated $10,000 to aid in the pursuit of my Olympic Dream. This money could not have come at a better time. This year is a very important one in my competition because the season ends with a World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. The financial help that Country Pasta, as well as the Live Locally 5K Run, has rendered will allow me to make it to every track meet I need to this year. This will allow me the opportunities to compete against the top athletes thus preparing myself to make this years World US Team!!! I hope that Fred and Amy Kellogg, as well as all of the people that signed up and donated to the Run, know how much this means to me. I am forever grateful to them all, and I look forward to representing Country Pasta in this years competitions!!!

Grant Recipient

2010-09-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

I just had a coach email me saying congratulations for receiving the USATF Foundation Grant. . . I had no idea. But sure enough when I went onto their website, they announced 11 new recipients yesterday. I WAS ONE OF THEM!!! I cannot even explain how excited I am for this!

We are exactly one month away from the Fun Run my hometown of Polson in putting on for me. And I have been bracing myself to be able to live this year off of what is raised. I have become a very frugal person, so I know that somehow I would manage. But I believe, now, between the grant and the fundraiser I WILL MAKE IT TO THE MEETS I NEED TO GO TO!!!

I hope that all the people who sign up for the Live Locally Fun Run, as well as the members of the USATF Foundation Board, know how thankful I am tot hem for helping me get closer to my dream of the 2012 Olympic Games.